Flicker
by PhoenixRising360
Summary: Abby has a crush on Gibbs and decides it's time to do something about it. Sequel to Dark Spark. Written for NFA's Nepal Relief Charity Auction.
1. Chapter 1

This story is a sequel to Dark Spark. This was also written for the Nepal Relief Charity Auction on NFA.

FLICKER

Chapter 1

 _[i]Today is the day[/i]_ , Abby Sciuto thought as she dressed for work, choosing a short black skirt and a red top. She reached for her spiked dog collar and her hand froze. No, not a good choice. If she wore that and he said yes and an opportunity arose for them to kiss…the last thing she wanted to have on was spikes. She chose a studded dog collar instead and put that on followed by matching leather wrist cuffs. She smiled a little as she put them on. Gibbs was one of the few men…well, few people, period, who did not look at her strangely when he noted her style of dress. In fact, she was fairly certain he liked what he saw. She'd had more than a few people tell her that she should stop dressing the way she did at work but he never once said a word about it.

She shivered as she remembered the morning she wore the mid-thigh length black skirt and the red fishnet stockings. All day long she'd been ogled by the men in the building, catching appreciative eye sex all day but late in the day when Stan and Gibbs brought in the evidence for their latest case, she swore she saw fire in his eyes, the first time he had ever looked at her quite like that. She had felt so warm inside, she was certain she was flushed and had rambled more than usual as they signed in the evidence. Gibbs had that small smirk on his face the entire time, as if he knew why she rambled and it was all she could do not to jump him right then and there. She'd barely managed to control herself.

Back to back cases had kept them all busy since but today…she was only awaiting DNA and until they got a case she would be cleaning, ordering supplies and preparing for the next round of cases as they always seemed to happen in spurts and…she was going to ask Gibbs out.

Her hands trembled a little at the thought as she braided her hair, causing her to lose her grip on the hair and having to brush it out and start over. She tried to imagine how she'd ask; she wasn't even exactly sure what he liked to eat except Chinese and subs…well, he did have a couple of slices of pizza the day they were there all night, but none of that was date food. He looked like the kind of guy who'd like steak and there was a great Italian place that also did steaks, that would be a safe bet.

She had done some digging on him and knew he was only about six years older than she was but thought she was a lot younger than she actually was. Of course, she'd always felt younger than she was so maybe it reflected in her face. She just hoped he would say yes. Since the day they'd met, she would watch him whenever she could, which really wasn't often since she was in the lab and he was anywhere and everywhere else. Stan had confided that anytime she was mentioned, he'd get that little smirk on his face. Abby had grown to love that smirk. It made him seem younger, playful and oh so hot. God, she wanted him. She suspected he might want her; at least, the look he gave her that day made her believe he might. She hoped. She really hoped.

She took a deep breath before stepping in front of the full-length mirror. Perfect. She looked good. She felt good. She grinned at her reflection. [i] _Oh yeah, today is definitely the day![/i]_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Leroy Jethro Gibbs' work day started like most days did when they didn't have an active case. Coffee and paperwork. Always an endless amount of paperwork, all part of the government bureaucracy known as Cover Your Ass. Of course, that was better than Kiss Ass which he refused to do. Tom Morrow, the director, respected him for it but that didn't stop them from butting heads a lot. It never took long for anyone to figure out that Gibbs was the proverbial brick wall you either went around or over because he didn't back down for anyone.

Gibbs had been at his desk nearly two hours when Stan came in and Gibbs took that as his cue to go get more coffee just to get away from him. It wasn't that Gibbs didn't like him, he was an okay investigator, just lacked a certain something that would've made him a great investigator. Stan was better than no help at all though so he put up with the man despite the fact that his nervousness and obvious intimidation got on his nerves. Gibbs dealt with that in his own way. He deliberately called him 'Steve' though he knew damn well what his name was and he made sure Stan did all the crappy jobs. So far, Stan was doing his best to not disappoint but Gibbs noticed that the man had been buying the bigger bottles of Tums and popping a lot of them a day. He'd counted six yesterday alone.

Gibbs bought his coffee and headed back to the elevator and he thought of Stephanie. He knew she'd been disappointed a few nights back when he had to postpone their date, what would be their fifth date but she'd understood. So far, of all the women who had been in his life, Stephanie had been the most understanding of his job. She knew what she'd signed up for with him or seemed to, so far. He expected her to be disappointed but she didn't seem to hold it against him. He smiled as an idea occurred to him and pulled out his cell phone. He'd send her a dozen roses, just to let her know he was disappointed too. Things were going so well he didn't want to mess this up. He ordered the flowers and gave the address to her office and hung up just as he returned to the bullpen. He no sooner than sat down than his phone rang and he and Stan were off and running on another case.

Hours later they returned. Gibbs' knee hurt like hell from having to kneel but there was so much evidence it was all hands on deck so Gibbs helped Stan process the scene. They brought in boxes of evidence and Abby, bright and cheerful as ever, chatted on. Gibbs smiled at her, listened to her without interruption, not that he ever said much anyway, but he enjoyed her chatter. Right now, she was talking to Stan about the puppies she had helped bottle feed at the animal shelter and though normally stoic, he couldn't help but also chuckle at her description of one of the pups. That was one of the things he liked about her. Even though she worked exceptionally long hours as they all found she did her best work alone, she spent a lot of her free time doing volunteer work, both for humans and animals. She seemed to have a big heart and he loved that about her. It reminded him of Shannon. He smiled a little sadly at the memory. Before Kelly, she would volunteer once a week at a soup kitchen though after Kelly was born, it was twice a month since she got too busy to watch Kelly while cooking and serving the food and they couldn't afford a babysitter that often.

Finally the evidence was processed and he and Stan said their goodbyes to Abby and headed upstairs to start investigating though Gibbs gave Abby a fond smile before he left. He felt lighter in heart than he had in ages. Because of her. If he was ten years younger…

Abby smiled to herself all day. That smile Gibbs gave her right before he left her weak in the knees. If Stan hadn't been there, she hadn't been sure she wouldn't have kissed him. Then again, he hadn't overtly expressed interest in her but sometimes the way he looked and smiled around her…

She sank onto the stool and sighed. She had a ton of work to do and the sooner she got it done, the sooner she could talk to him. She hoped beyond hope when she asked him to dinner he would say yes. To spend time alone with him…

She sighed again and a smile lit up her face. Work. Right. Get to work. Solve this case. Get the bad guys put away. Get the good guy on a date.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

It was early evening and Gibbs sat at his desk writing up his report. Stan had finished his report and had left for the day. Another team in the bullpen was busy working a case and everyone else had left. Gibbs stopped typing to take a swig from his water bottle and had just capped it again when the elevator dinged. Gibbs glanced up and smiled when he saw her heading toward him. She had a file in her hand and a smile on her face. He looked her up and down seeing the outfit she wore today. He didn't know why Tom Morrow let her wear the outfits she wore; they were hardly proper work attire but damn if she wasn't gorgeous to look at. The contrast between the dark depression most goths had a reputation for being and this darkly dressed beacon of light intrigued him in ways he couldn't explain. He stood as she approached.

"Hi, Abs," he smiled lightly.

"Hey, Gibbs. I brought up the evidence reports for the case," she handed him the file folder.

He smiled and took it from her and he opened it to take a quick glance. As he read over the top page he just shook his head sadly.

"Always revenge or greed, isn't it?" she asked, glancing at the paper.

"Seems so," he agreed, closing the file and setting it on his desk.

Abby took a deep breath. This was it. "So, I was…"

She was interrupted by the sound of the elevator dinging and a red-headed woman followed by a security guard strolled into the bullpen.

"Jethro!" The woman exclaimed, a huge smile on her face as she hurried over to him. Gibbs' smile lit up the room as Stephanie came over to him and he was nearly knocked over as she hugged him. "I love the flowers, thank you so much."

"Steph? What are you doing here?" he said with a grin though he hugged her back.

"I couldn't wait to see you. I loved the roses and I just…I wanted to see you."

He laughed. "I'll be heading out soon." It was then he saw Abby looking on a little startled. "Steph, this is Abby Sciuto, our forensic scientist. Abby, this is Stephanie Flynn."

Stephanie released Gibbs and looked over at Abby and smiled warmly. "Abby, Jethro has told me about you. It's very nice to meet you. He says you've made his job so much easier. I'm grateful for that."

Abby shook her hand and found a smile, unable to not respond to the warmth in hers. "It's very nice to meet you too." Abby echoed, unable to think of anything else to say as she tried to smash her disappointment down.

Stephanie turned to Jethro. "I thought maybe we could get some dinner if you're able to leave?"

He smiled. "Yeah." He sat back down at his desk to shut down his computer.

"Well, I should be heading out too. Was nice to have met you, Stephanie. Good night, Gibbs."

"Night, Abs," Gibbs didn't look up as he finished taking care of the case files, locking them away.

He got a glimpse of her as she neared the elevator and he saw the muscles in her legs flex as she moved. In that moment he thanked his Marine training that he kept his face absolutely neutral or Stephanie would've been able to read how turned on he suddenly was.

He caught her eye and let the grin he had felt toward Abby be directed at Stephanie. "Come on," he said quietly. "Let's get out of here."

She smiled at him and they walked out together though stocking-clad legs framed by a black mini skirt would haunt his fantasies for a long time to come. God, if he were only ten years younger, then maybe, maybe Abby might've looked twice at him. He suspected he was almost old enough to be her father. That thought made him cringe.

He pushed the thoughts aside and looked over at the gorgeous red head sitting beside him in the car. They had a good thing going and he really liked her. She didn't seem to hold his job against him, well, at least not too much. Even he got frustrated sometimes if a case came in when he had plans but that was the job. Criminals didn't cater to anyone's timetable and they never would.

Stephanie chatted on about her reaction to the flowers he sent and he smiled at her, happy to see her happy and her smile made him forget everything else for the moment.

Abby sat on her stool in her lab, crushing disappointment lodged in her throat. She tried to swallow it down but it wouldn't be swallowed. God, she had no idea he had a girlfriend though he was so hot maybe she should've known. Knowing that now though, she was relieved she hadn't asked him out after all. How embarrassing would it be to find out that way. Stephanie's timing couldn't have been more perfect as it had saved her from abject humiliation.

Abby looked down at her clothes and sighed. She should've known she wouldn't be his type. Stephanie had good, if conventional, taste in clothes and she dressed lovely and that beautiful red hair. How could she ever compete with that. Maybe she'd misread his smiles and looks.

No, her brain insisted. Those red fishnets. She had not misread the look in his eyes. But his girlfriend was a redhead. Maybe he just had a thing for the color red. Like a bull ready to charge. Maybe it wasn't about her, just a thing for red. All men look though. That was biological. It wasn't about an attraction to her specifically. She was female. He was male. Natural as breathing, right?

She sighed and inhaled deeply through her mouth, hoping the air will displace the lump in her throat. It failed but the intake of oxygen helped her get a grip. She accepted that she wasn't his type after all and well, maybe it was for the best since they did work together and at least she could see him most every day and maybe they could at least be friends, if nothing romantic. He seemed to like her and he did protect her from that jerk, Coughlin. Yeah, it wasn't all bad, she told herself. She just would keep her crush to herself.

She was happy for him that he had someone to love. She wanted him to be happy and he seemed happy with Stephanie. She couldn't begrudge him that. The way his face lit up when he saw her coming toward him was…nice. Yeah, it really was. Stephanie seemed to feel the same. That was no bad thing. If she couldn't have him to be happy with, at least he could be happy with someone else.

A smile brightened her otherwise sad features. She didn't know how long she had been seeing him but as she had only been working there a few weeks, it seemed likely he'd been with her longer. Stephanie simply beat her to him. It wasn't like she'd stolen him or anything. She seemed sweet too. Gibbs deserved that. And he did seem to smile when he came to the lab and she liked she could make him smile, even if he wasn't into her the way she wanted him to be. She could and would be happy for Gibbs. She wanted him to be happy. She was happy for him. Really.

She wouldn't sit around and brood. She got up, made one last check that all the equipment was shut down and turned off. She'd go dancing tonight. Dancing could make her forget everything. She'd dance, have a good time, relax, unwind, maybe even forget Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Maybe.


End file.
